Thursday, June 09, 2016

Where have I been? Working at Twitter!

Totally
mortified that I've neglected this blog for close to a year, and not going to
make this mistake again. But while I sharpen my pencil, do indulge me. I was
interviewed by SheThePeople.tv about my new job and where I've been hanging my
hat. If anyone still reads by blog, here goes: (link at the bottom)

Being
top of the line at one of the world’s largest social networking sites at
32 is no mean feat. But Mahima Kaul has carved her own niche by working
her way to the top, becoming the India Public Policy Head for
Twitter. A former journalist, she worked with one of the biggest
think-tanks in India- Observer Researcher Foundation (ORF)
before moving on to the global giant. A keen researcher of internet
governance and it’s significance in our lives, she has written extensively on
internet governance issues, information and communication technology and cyber
security.

Mahima
talks to us about what influenced her choices, work decisions, women at the
executive and her personal inspiration.

Being Public Policy Head is a socially responsible business.

I
feel extremely lucky to be working with one of the world’s best known
companies; one that stands for free expression in an increasingly connected and complicated world. When I
look around me and think of the incredible changes that Twitter has brought into
our lives, it almost seems unbelievable that I grew up in a fairly analog
world. Twitter has become extremely central to our online (and offline) lives
during emergencies, helping to build a community where we share laughter and
tears, and create alternative narratives and promote counter speech.

There
are three aspects to my role. The first is to monitor and participate in
internet policy debates and consultations with the government of India as it
pertains to Twitter’s functioning in the Indian market. This is important
because as our government – like many others – seek to regulate a very new and
dynamic space for the first time, they look to other stakeholders like civil
society and business to provide inputs in order to ensure the policies and laws
are progressive.

The
second is to talk to our users about Twitter’s own policies, rules and tools,
and how they function so that there is transparency and clarity about how the
platform operates. The third is working with NGOs and charities under #TwitterForGood.

Mutual benefits with getting on board Twitter

When
we take on new roles, we do it to make a difference. Outside of policy, I also
manage a program called #TwitterForGood, where I work with NGOs who are doing
phenomenal work in the areas of free expression, emergency and crisis response,
women in tech, access & inclusion and digital citizenship. Recently, we
launched the #PositionOfStrength program in India, where we are tackling head
on two pressing issues in this digital age; leveraging the opportunity social
media – Twitter – provides us in creating a unique voice to talk about the
issues that are important to us, and second, understanding how to stay safe in
this new media environment. My own passion, carried forward from the days when
I worked with a community media organization called Video Volunteers, has now
found a new home at Twitter. I’d like to think it’s mutually beneficial to be
able to carry forward this work.

The inspiration along the way

My
journey has been amazing and a lot of fun, filled with ups and downs. I started
off on the edit team of the Indian Express and was lucky enough to have an
editor who really helped me hone my writing skills. I left print for TV, as all
young journalists did back then, and ended up
doing work for Al Jazeera, CCTV and PBS. Again, I benefitted from working for a
dynamic woman who helped me learn the art of producing a news documentary. Over
time, I became very interested in one kind of story – how technology
impacts society. As a result I found myself
doing projects with NGOs working at this
intersection. Often this involved travelling to rural India and doing
case-studies on websites and mobile phone apps were changing the very fabric of
society. Taking all these experiences, I wrote a paper on digital inclusion
during an ‘Emerging Leaders Fellowship’ at the University of Melbourne,
Australia. I returned to India and joined ORF. What kept me inspired was the
work itself , it was intellectually engaging and I constantly met new people
who were at the cutting edge of what they were doing, and
it made me want to do more with my life!

The learnings at Observer Research Foundation(ORF)

Setting
up the Cyber Initiative at ORF, India’s most influential think-tank, was what
can only be described as a great adventure. I worked very closely with the Vice
President of ORF, a great mentor, and built from scratch a very important
platform to hold internet policy debates important to both India – government,
business and civil society – and to a global audience interested in Indian
views on internet governance. We had tremendous success with CyFy; an internet
policy conference which not only hosted senior ministers from India and abroad,
but brought some of the brightest academics and industry leaders to India. ORF
also gave me the space to grow, publish, and present my views at global forums
like the Stockholm Internet Forum, RightsCon and CyFy itself. I’m very proud
and lucky to have had that experience.

As
a teenager who discovered social media when in college at McGill
University, Canada, my weekly routine involved faithfully uploading pictures
online after every party I attended. Slowly, one came to understand the privacy
implications of putting out information in the public domain. But along with
enjoying online personal networks, as an active blogger starting 2005, I
experienced the wonderful possibilities of interest-based online communities.
In fact one of my first op-eds for the Indian Express was about how the Indian
blogging community responded to the government blocking blogger in 2006. I
wrote passionately why young people in India wanted and needed the internet —
“accessibility to information is key” — and against censoring the internet.

Some
of my blogposts were picked up at times by Global Voices Online and Open
Democracy, even Huffington Post (before it came to India!). With this exposure,
along with my day-job of being a mainstream journalist, I found myself
gravitating towards the questions of free expression, privacy, and safety, and
my work so far as reflected that interest. By the way, I still upload pictures
on a regular basis!

Breaking through the glass ceiling

My
mother is a successful lawyer and I’ve grown up seeing her work hard through my
life. So, I’ve been lucky to have a strong female role model in my life. And as
a result, I’ve always gravitated towards strong women – leaders in the
corporate world, politics, NGOs – and if I’ll be really honest, even on TV
shows! It is wonderful to hear from these strong women leaders about how they
navigated the many challenges of being a woman in the workplace, managing the
competing attentions of home and office. I’m inspired by their hard work,
dedication, and articulation. There aren’t enough women who get the opportunity
and support to reach the top, and I’m very happy that we are talking about this
more in India. I hope, in some small way, I’m able to positively
contribute to this conversation and bring real change to the landscape in
India.

Advice to women aspiring to enter the corporate world

For
me, there are three takeaways that I can offer from my personal experience, be
it a corporate job or any other. The first is I was interested in a sector
where the jobs weren’t obvious ten years ago and often I had to create
opportunities for myself by suggesting new ideas and projects. So sometimes
the journey is a discovery, and innovation is key.

The
second is that people can sometimes try to undermine you simply because you are
a young woman with ambition. To that I say, try and work with the best people
you know. There are many who help you grow and reach your potential. Focus on
them. Do your best, work hard and deliver results.

The
third is related. When the Nirbhaya rape happened in 2012, like many
others, I felt a strong personal connection to the incident and felt violated
myself. But I channeled that energy and reaffirmed to myself that I’m not going
to let the regressive and repressive parts of our society dictate my freedom,
mobility and life choices. At the time I wrote a blog called ‘they can’t rape
it out of me’. Now I recognize that as offering an alternate narrative; trying
to find something positive in the negative. If only we could remember that all
the time!

2 comments:

Many congratulations Ma'am. I'm a regular follower of your blog and was missing your posts. I met you at the Indo-Pak Debates as a participant from Mayo College, Ajmer long back. Currently a third year law student at National Law University, Jodhpur. Congratulations again, and all the best!